Withdrawal cords are commonly sewn onto tampons to help ease in the removal of the tampon from the vaginal cavity. Typically, during the manufacturing process, a continuous cord is sewn onto multiple pledgets thereby connecting the pledgets. The pledgets may be spaced on a conveyor connected by the continuous cord. The amount of cord between two pledgets may comprise the amount of cord that is not sewn to the pledget, which represents the graspable portion of a withdrawal cord. The cord is then cut between pledgets in a separate process; leaving a portion of the cord attached to the pledget prior to the location of the cut and portion of the cord attached to a pledget after the location of the cut. The typical process also sews the cord onto the entire longitudinal length of the pledget. This leads to unnecessary sewing that utilizes excess sewing thread and cord. This process also creates inefficiency because the conveyor must space the pledgets to account for the desired length of cord between pledgets.
The typical process ideally cuts the cord without cutting any of the pledgets. However, often, one or more pledgets are partially cut when cutting the cord. This leads to irregular pledgets that are discarded because they do not meet the product target.
Therefore, it would be desirable to provide a method and apparatus for delivering a discrete cord to a transfer member through a supply path. The transfer member may move the discrete cord to an attachment system capable of attaching a single discrete cord to a pledget. This allows for a reduced sewing requirement per pledget while possibly increasing the pledget production rate.